Method and device for crimping hair

ABSTRACT

A hair crimper may include a carriage, a roller and a retaining member. The carriage may include a plurality of ribs and may be adapted to open on at least one end. The roller may include a plurality of grooves adapted to receive the plurality of ribs, and the retaining member may be adapted to lock the carriage.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to a hair styling devices and, more particularly, to a roller-type device adapted for crimping hair.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0002] Hair crimpers are known in the art, and are commonly used to crimp strands of hair. The most popular type of crimper available is a crimping iron. A crimping iron, functions by heating one or more plates, placing the strands of hair between the plates, and then closing the plates. This type of crimper, however, has several aspects that make it difficult and/or impractical to use. The crimping iron, for example, requires, among other things, a costly iron, and electricity or an alternate power source to operate the iron. The iron is also heavy and cumbersome to use, which makes its use difficult and requires substantial energy. Furthermore, the heat created by the iron can dry and generally damage the hair, making the use of the crimping iron, and especially repeated use of the crimping iron, undesirable.

[0003] Similarly, the crimping iron makes it difficult for the user to achieve consistent and large amounts of crimps. More particularly, the size of the crimping plates on the crimping iron are usually small compared to the amount or length of the user's hair. Therefore, to crimp the entire length of the strands of hair, the user would have to crimp a first section of the strands, and then move the crimping iron to the section of hair above or below the newly crimped section, and attempt to align the last crimped section of hair with the new about to be crimped section of hair. This process is difficult to accomplish and is very time consuming, especially when having to crimp long section of hair.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0004] In accordance with one aspect of the disclosure among others, a hair crimper is disclosed. In one exemplary embodiment, the hair crimper includes a carriage, a roller and a retaining member. The carriage may be adapted to open on at least one end, and may include a plurality of ribs. The roller may include a plurality of grooves adapted to receive the plurality of ribs, and the retaining member may be adapted to lock the carriage.

[0005] In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure among others, a method of crimping hair is disclosed. In one exemplary embodiment, the method includes providing a carriage having a plurality of ribs, a roller having a plurality of grooves, and a retaining member. The method may further include winding strands of hair around the roller, forcing the strands of hair into the plurality of grooves with the plurality of ribs, and locking the carriage with a retaining member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006]FIG. 1 is an perspective view of a hair crimper as constructed in accordance with the teachings of the disclosure;

[0007]FIG. 1A is a front view of the hair crimper on FIG. 1;

[0008]FIG. 2 is an exploded isometric view of the hair crimper;

[0009]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a carriage of the hair crimper in FIG. 1;

[0010]FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the carriage in FIG. 3;

[0011]FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a retaining ring of FIG. 1;

[0012]FIG. 6 is a perspective of a user opening the carriage;

[0013]FIG. 7 is a perspective view of strands of hair being wound onto a roller;

[0014]FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the carriage engaging the roller;

[0015]FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the retaining ring being placed on an end of the carriage; and

[0016]FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the strands of hair being crimped in the hair crimper.

[0017] While the method and device described herein are susceptible to various modifications and alternative constructions, certain illustrative embodiments thereof have been shown in the drawings and will be described below in detail. It should be understood, however, that there is no intention to limit the invention to the specific forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] Referring now to the drawings, and with specific reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a hair crimper constructed in accordance with the teachings of the disclosure is generally depicted by reference numeral 20. As shown therein, the hair crimper 20 includes a carriage 22, a roller 24, and a retaining member 26.

[0019] In one exemplary embodiment, the carriage 22, as seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, may include a plurality of ribs 28, a housing 30 and an engagement member 32, wherein the plurality of ribs 28 are oriented generally parallel to each other, and are located radially around the housing 30. The ribs 28 may be adapted to pivot in a radial direction with respect to the housing 30 when pressing on the engagement member 32, which may be indirectly or directly coupled to the plurality of ribs 28. More specifically, each of the plurality of ribs 28 may include a first end 34, a second end 36, an inner surface 38, an outer surface 40, an outer stop member 42, an inner stop member 44 and a leverage arm 46, and the leverage arm 46 may further include a first end 48 and a second end 50.

[0020] The ribs 28 may have a generally slender shape having a smooth outer surface 40 to prevent abrasive contact with the users head, and may have a pointed inner surface 38, running along the length of the ribs 28, to better complement the shape of a plurality of grooves 52 located on the roller 24. The outer stop member 42 member may be located on the outer surface 40 of the ribs 28 toward the rib second end 36, and may be sufficiently spaced to receive and secure the retaining member 26. The inner stop member 44 may be located on the inner surface 38 of the rib toward the second end 36, and may be sized to retain and secure the roller 24. Located and fixedly attached to the inner surface 38 of the first end 34 of the ribs 28 may be the first end 48 of the leverage arm 46. The leverage arm 46 may be adapted to pivot at or near the first end 48, and may be adapted to engage with the engaging member 32 at the second end 50. In one exemplary embodiment, the housing 30 may be of a generally cylindrical shape having an inner surface 54, an outer surface 56, a first end 58, a second end 60, a pivot member 62, a pair of tabs 64 and a plurality of slots 66. The plurality of slots 66 may be located radially around the first end 58 of the housing 30, and may be adapted to engage and/or guide the leverage arms 46 of the ribs 28. Extending radially outward from the outer surface 56 of the housing 30 may be the pivot member 62 adapted to pivotally engage with the second end 50 of the leverage arms 46, and may be adapted to stop or act as a barrier for the roller 24. Located and adapted to traverse within an aperture 68 located in the first end 58 of the housing 30, may be the engagement member 32. The engagement member 32 may be of a generally cylindrical shape and may include an inner surface 70, an outer surface 72, a first end 74, a second end 76 and an extension portion 78. The outer surface 72 of the engagement member 32 may be sized for at least partial insertion into the housing 30, and more specifically, the outer surface 72 of the engagement member 32 may be sized for at least partial insertion through the aperture 68. The extension portion 78 may extend from the second end 76 of the engagement member 32 toward the second end 60 of the housing 30, and may engage the second end 50 of the leverage arm 46. The pair of tabs 64 may be located axially outward from the housing 30 for receiving one or more of a user's fingers, the tabs 64 having a first side 80 and a second side 82.

[0021] In one exemplary embodiment, the roller 24 may have a generally cylindrical interior, and may have a generally star shaped exterior. More specifically, the roller 24 may include a generally star shaped shell 84, a generally cylindrical body 86 and a generally cylindrical core 88. The shell 84 may include an inner surface 87, an outer surface 89, a first end 90 and a second end 92, wherein the profile of the inner surface 87 and the outer surface 89 are both star shaped, due to the plurality of grooves 52 located radially around and running along the length of the shell 84. Located between the grooves 52 may be a plurality of peaks 94 created by the star shaped profile. The body 86 may include an inside surface 96, an outside surface 98, a first end 100 and a second end 102, wherein outside surface 98 is sized to fit within the inner surface 87 of the shell 84, and wherein the inside surface 96 as sized to receive the core 88. Similarly, the core 88 may include an inner surface 104, an outer surface 106, a first end 108 and a second end 110, wherein the outer surface 106 is sized to fit within the inside surface 96 of the body 86.

[0022] In one exemplary embodiment, the retaining member 26 may be generally ring shaped, having an inner surface 112, an outer surface 114, a first end 116 and a second end 118. The inner surface 112 of the retaining member 26 may be shaped with a frustoconical profile having a larger diameter near the first end 116 of the retaining member 26 and decreasing to a smaller diameter near the second end 118 of the retaining member 26.

[0023] The hair crimper 20 may be constructed from a wide variety of materials, and may be constructed from any material adapted to accomplish the intended purpose. More specifically, the carriage 22 may be constructed from hard, wear resistant plastics, but may be constructed from other plastics, wood, metal or the like. Furthermore, the various parts of the carriage 22 may be constructed of different materials, or the carriage 22 may be constructed from the same material. The shell 84 may be constructed from a semi-soft or semi-rigid material adapted to deform a small amount during the closing of the hair crimper 20. The body 86 may be constructed from a foam-like material adapted to compress during the use of the hair crimper 20, and the core 88 may be constructed from a semi-rigid to rigid plastic material adapted to give support to the roller 24. The shell 84, body 86 and core 88 may, however, be constructed from other plastics, foam, wood, metal or the like, having stiffer and/or softer properties. The retaining member 26 may be constructed from a semi-hard to hard material adapted to retain the ribs 28 of the carriage 22 during use of the hair crimper 20, but may be constructed from any other material having stiffer and/or softer properties that may be adapted to accomplish the intended purpose.

[0024] In one exemplary embodiment, the hair crimper 20 may be utilized to crimp strands or sections of hair. More specifically, the user may wind strands of hair about the roller 24, place the roller 24 into the carriage 22, and then lock the carriage 22 with the retaining member 26.

[0025] The user, as seen in FIG. 7, may wind the strands of hair around the roller 24. More specifically, the user may first place the ends of the strands of hair onto the roller 24 and begin to rotate the roller 24 thereby overlapping the strands of hair onto each other until the desired amount of hair is on the roller 24, or until the roller 24 is to the top of the user's head. After the desired amount of hair is on the roller 24, the user may insert the roller 24 into the carriage 22, or place the carriage 22 around the roller 24. To open the carriage 22, as seen in FIG. 6, the user may hold the carriage 22 with one or more hands, and may depress the first end 74 of the engagement member 32, thereby causing the plurality of ribs 28 to pivot so that the rib 28 second ends 36 move outwardly, hence opening the carriage 22. More specifically, the user may place forefingers on the second side 82 of the pair of tabs 64, and press on the first end 74 of the engagement member 32. The engagement member 32 while being pressed, may force the engagement portion 78 against the second end 50 of the leverage arms 46, causing the leverage arm 46 to pivot about the pivot member 62, and forcing the second end 50 of the leverage arms 46 toward the open end of the carriage 22, thereby forcing the rib second ends 36 to move outwardly.

[0026] To place the roller 24 within the carriage 22, or to place the carriage 22 around the roller 24 as seen in FIG. 8, the user may guide the carriage 22, and more specifically guide the ribs 28 around the roller 24 and strands of hair, and align the plurality of ribs 28 with the plurality of grooves 52. The user may locate the roller 24 within the carriage 22 such that the first ends 90, 100, 108 of the shell 84, body 86 and core 88, respectively, of the roller 24 are located near or against the pivot member 62 and that the second ends 92, 102, 110 of the shell 84, body 86 and core 88, respectively, of the roller 24 are located within the inner stop members 44. The user, as shown in FIG. 9, may fully insert the roller 24 into the carriage 22, align the ribs 28 to the grooves 52, and compressing the roller 24 with plurality of ribs 28. More specifically, once the ribs 28 and grooves 52 are aligned with the strands of hair therebetween, the user may force the second ends 36 of the ribs 28 radially inwardly toward each other, causing the insides 38 of the ribs 28 to press the strands of hair into the grooves 52, thereby manipulating the strands of hair to the profile of the shell 84.

[0027] In one exemplary embodiment, the user may close the carriage 22 and lock the carriage 22 with the retaining member 26. As the ribs 28 are forced closer together, the amount of force required to move the ribs 28 may become increasingly difficult. For example, as the ribs 28 are brought together, the strands of hair which are wound around the roller 24 may be squeezed into the grooves 52 thereby compressing and therefore reducing the overall size of the roller 24. More specifically, once the strands of hair are wound around the roller 24, and the ribs 28 are forced together, the amount of hair that is located between the carriage 22 and roller 24 may not increase. As the strands of hair are forced into the grooves 52, however, more hair may be required to compensate for the weaving of the hair as it goes from groove 52 to peak 94, etc. Instead of acquiring more hair, however, the overall diameter of the roller 24 may be decreased by compressing the shell 84, body 86 and/or core 88 of the roller 24.

[0028] In one exemplary embodiment, the user may lock the carriage 22 by placing the retaining member 26 over the second ends 36 of the ribs 28. More specifically, the user may abut the first side 114 of the retaining member 26 against the second end 36 of the ribs 28, such that the second end 36 of the ribs 28 are located on the frustoconical inner surface 112. The user may force the second end 36 of the ribs 28 even further together by pressing the retaining member 26 toward the carriage 22 and guiding the second end 36 of the ribs 28 along the retainer inner surface 112, until the retaining member 26 passes over the outer stop member 42, located on the second side 36 of the ribs 28. The retaining member 26 may be prevented from freely moving or falling off the carriage 22 by the outer stop members 42.

[0029] In one exemplary embodiment, to unlock and/or remove the hair crimper 20 from the strands of hair after the user has acquired the desired crimp, the user may remove the retaining member 26 from the second end 36 of the ribs 28, open the carriage 22, separate the carriage 22 from the roller 24, and unwind the strands of hair from the roller 24.

[0030] In one exemplary embodiment, the user may anytime before, after and/or during winding of the strands of hair around the roller 24, wet the hair with water and/or any hair styling product for easy manipulation of the hair and/or to add a desired quality to the hair, such as body, hold, softness, volume, aroma, shine, lack of frizz, and the like.

[0031] The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness of understanding only and no unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom, as modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A hair crimper comprising: a carriage having a first end and a second end, and a plurality of ribs, the carriage being adapted to open on at least one end; a roller having a first end and a second, and a plurality of grooves, the roller being adapted to engage with the carriage, the plurality of grooves being adapted to receive the plurality of ribs; and a retaining member adapted to lock the carriage.
 2. The hair crimper of claim 1 wherein the roller includes a shell, a body and a core.
 3. The hair crimper of claim 1 wherein the roller is adapted to compress.
 4. The hair crimper of claim 1 wherein the retaining member includes a frustoconical surface adapted to engage with the ribs.
 5. The hair crimper of claim 1 wherein the carriage includes at least one stop member adapted to secure the retaining member.
 6. A method for crimping hair comprising: providing a carriage having a plurality of ribs, a roller having a plurality of grooves, and a retaining member; winding strands of hair around the roller; forcing the strands of hair into the plurality of grooves with the plurality of ribs; and locking the carriage with the retaining member.
 7. The hair crimper of claim 6 further including opening the carriage.
 8. The hair crimper of claim 6 further including pivot the ribs on a pivot member.
 9. A hair crimper comprising: a carriage having a first and second ends, including a housing at the first end, an engagement member slidably received by the housing, a pivot member fixed to the housing, and a plurality of ribs having first ends coupled to the housing and second ends located at the carriage second end, the rib engaging the engagement member at the first end and an intermediate portion of each rib engaging the pivot member, wherein movement of the engagement member toward the carriage pivots the rib about the pivot member, thereby moving the ribs second ends radially outward to open the carriage second end; a roller having a first end and a second end, and a plurality of grooves, the roller being adapted for releasable attachment to the carriage with the plurality of grooves positioned to receive the plurality of ribs; and a retaining member wherein the retaining member removably abuts the ribs second end thereby locking the carriage. 